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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27823531">Sonny (The Mall Elf)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/soul_writerr/pseuds/soul_writerr'>soul_writerr</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Law &amp; Order: SVU</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Christmas, Christmas Shopping, Flirting, Kinda, M/M, Meet-Cute, Ogling, Rafael is looking respectfully, Sonny is a mall elf</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:41:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,243</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27823531</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/soul_writerr/pseuds/soul_writerr</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Noah spots Santa at the mall. Rafael spots one of his very, very handsome helpers.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>76</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Barisi Christmas Celebration</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sonny (The Mall Elf)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahcakes613/gifts">sarahcakes613</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Sarah gave me this prompts a couple months ago for an Archive challenge and I couldn't make it work then, but would you look at that, all I needed was some christmas cheer! I hope you enjoy this!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“I’ve still got 5 dollars and,” Noah paused to count a few coins, “75 cents.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rafael reached into his pocket and pulled out a quarter. “6 dollars.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks!,” he beamed. “I can get more chocolate for mommy’s stocking.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As a favor to Olivia, Rafael had offered to take Noah Christmas shopping. He was old enough now that Rafael could actually handle him, and he was conscious enough to know he shouldn’t walk away from him or talk to strangers, so the </span>
  <em>
    <span>babysitting</span>
  </em>
  <span> part of it wasn’t as hard. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All Rafael had to do was share his opinion about the gifts Noah wanted to buy for his mother, and that he knew how to do masterfully. It was easy, and he’d get a free dinner out of it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Or so he thought, until they turned a corner towards the candy store and Noah </span>
  <em>
    <span>shrieked</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Santa's here?!,” he shouted, looking up at Rafael with very wide eyes. “Uncle Rafa, can we please go talk to Santa? Please? I want to say sorry because my letter was late this year.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think Santa is upset with you, Noah,” Rafael said, smiling to hide his grimace. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Please</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Noah said again, grabbing his arm and pulling. “Maybe if I say sorry he’ll bring me all the gifts on my wishlist.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rafael was about to say no and let Olivia deal with that. They’d been going around the mall for hours now, they still weren’t done shopping, and he’d like to get home sometime before 10pm, but then he saw </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span>. One of Santa’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>helpers</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was tall, probably six feet, not counting the pointy hat, had a pretty face and pouty lips. The elf was going down the line of children, handing them licorice and candy canes, a smile so bright it was clear even from a distance that he had adorable dimples.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Rafael was a weak, </span>
  <em>
    <span>weak </span>
  </em>
  <span>man when it came to tall men with dimples.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” Rafael said, letting Noah pull him to the end of the line. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Most of the children in line were around Noah’s age, which thankfully meant the amount of crying and whining was kept to a minimum. He just hoped none of the parents tried to strike up a conversation with him about how </span>
  <em>
    <span>cute </span>
  </em>
  <span>and </span>
  <em>
    <span>polite </span>
  </em>
  <span>Noah was or about how the holiday season was </span>
  <em>
    <span>so stressful</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rafael watched the tall elf as they waited, intrigued by how he played with the children and joked with their parents. He had to deny a couple of the adults who were asking for candy, saying it was only for </span>
  <em>
    <span>good kids</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and Rafael detected a hint of an accent. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His outfit was horrendous, but it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>tight</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and Rafael could appreciate that. There were striped green and red leggings with the classic green shorts and shirt, but that wasn’t the worst of it. The man was wearing </span>
  <em>
    <span>pointy shoes</span>
  </em>
  <span> that curved upwards and had a little bell on the tip that jingled as he walked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And that wasn’t all - no, because the nightmare never ended -, his pointy hat also had a bell. So the closer he got to where Noah and Rafael were standing, the louder the bell sounded. Is this what people meant when they said “that man should come with a warning”?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Never mind the tragic attire, Rafael was very </span>
  <em>
    <span>subtly </span>
  </em>
  <span>admiring how the leggings looked on his thighs despite the horrid colors when the man turned, and Rafael’s eyes jumped to his. It was a sparkling, icy shade of blue that knocked the breath right out of Rafael. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They stared at each other for a couple beats, and the ADA definitely noticed how the elf’s eyes went from his face to his tie to his pocket square then down the rest of his body, an appreciative twinkle shining in his pretty eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rafael smirked to himself and the man blushed, caught, turning back to the children waiting for their candy with their hands stretched. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you think, Uncle Rafa?,” Noah asked, and Rafael snapped out of it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry, what?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you think I should get mommy more chocolate or some of those nuts things she likes?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you’ve already got a bunch of chocolate, right? I think she’d appreciate some variety.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re right,” Noah said, frowning in consideration. He was saying something else, probably something about nut mixes, but Rafael had looked up again and found that the tall elf was watching them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man’s lips curved into a little smile when their eyes met again, but he ducked his head before Rafael could return it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were only a handful of people between them now, but the elf stepped away from the line and disappeared somewhere behind the fake toy factory further ahead of them. Rafael frowned, and Noah protested.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?,” he gasped. “But I wanted licorice!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sure he’ll be back in a minute, Noah,” Rafael said, and the hope in his voice wasn’t fake at all. “Don’t worry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Noah crossed his arms. “I’ll ask Santa.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thankfully, for the both of them, the elf returned with another basket full of candy and continued from where he’d stopped. Noah perked up, smiling as he waited, until </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally </span>
  </em>
  <span>the handsome elf reached them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, buddy,” he greeted Noah. “I like your shirt.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks,” Noah said, excited. “I love the Ninja Turtles.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me, too!,” The elf said, all dimpled smiles, and offered Noah some licorice. “My favorite one is Raphael. What about you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Noah looked at Rafael and giggled. “I like Michelangelo.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nice,” he gave Noah a high-five, then looked at Rafael. “I like your tie.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Rafael said. “Aren’t you going to ask who my favorite Ninja Turtle is?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man chuckled. “Who is your favorite Ninja Turtle?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rafael pretended to consider it for a moment. “I’m partial to Donatello’s purple accessories.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A man with taste,” the elf said, then pulled a candy cane out of the little pocket on his shirt, handing it to Rafael. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took it, surprised, and a moment later noticed the piece of paper wrapped around the cane. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sonny (elf from the mall)</span>
  </em>
  <span>, it said, with a phone number above it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rafael looked at Sonny, who was blushing profusely and shifting nervously in place, and smiled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you,” he said, then made a show of tucking the candy cane beside his pocket square. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonny beamed at him, waved his goodbyes to Noah, and moved on to the next child in line. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He was nice,” Noah said, happily biting into his licorice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Very nice,” Rafael agreed, looking over his shoulder to catch Sonny looking at him again. This time, he smiled before Sonny looked away.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <b>Rafael: </b>
  <span>So you like Raphael, uh?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Sonny:</b>
  <span> I may or may not have heard the little boy calling you ‘Uncle Rafa’</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Rafael: </b>
  <span>Smart</span>
  <b>
    <br/>
  </b>
  <b>Rafael:</b>
  <span> Nice shoes, by the way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Sonny:</b>
  <span> They’re surprisingly comfortable</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Rafael:</b>
  <span> I don’t care to find out, honestly<br/></span>
  <b>Rafael:</b>
  <span> Do you keep your phone number wrapped around candy in your pocket at all times?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Sonny:</b>
  <span> You never know when a handsome man in a nice suit might show up</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <b>Sonny:</b>
  <span> In all honesty, I went backstage for a piece of paper and a pen</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <b>Sonny:</b>
  <span> We’re actually not supposed to give candy to adults accompanying the children</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Rafael:</b>
  <span> Well, I haven’t eaten it yet. You can take it back</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Sonny: </b>
  <span>I think I should</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <b>Sonny: </b>
  <span>Wouldn’t want to get in trouble<br/></span>
  <b>Sonny:</b>
  <span> Where is it?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Rafael </em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>shared his location.</span>
  </em>
  <span></span>
    <br/>
  
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <b>Sonny:</b>
  <span> On my way</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sonny did show up at Rafael's place in his Elf costume. Do with that what you will hehehe 😎</p>
<p>Remember to check out my collection of Christmas stories! I have 8 up as of now and have a couple other in the works, so let me know what you think of this one! The best way to spread Christmas cheer is to give this story a kudo. MWAH</p></blockquote></div></div>
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